Hugh Jackman Reveals He'll Play Racist Sheriff In Selma

It was a little strange to learn that Hugh Jackman was the first official cast member of Lee Daniels' historical film Selma, given that it focuses on Martin Luther King Jr. and President Lyndon Johnson and their roles in the 1965 Civil Rights March. I mean, Jackman wasn't going to be playing either of those characters, right? Um, right?

Now Wolverine himself has stepped in to explain things, and yes, he is definitely playing an appropriate role. He'll play Jim Clark, an Alabama sheriff who violently arrested several of the marchers, as he told Vulture. Given that he knew he probably wasn't supposed to admit even that-- "that's enough trouble for one night," he told them-- he declined to explain any further. But Clark's Wikipedia page notes that he was responsible for "Bloody Sunday," in which he ordered his mounted police to charge a group of peaceful protesters. A year before his death in 2007, he told a local newspaper he'd do the same thing again if given the chance. Sounds like a fascinating, brutal guy, and a big change of pace for the sunny and well-liked Jackman. Can't wait to see how this turns out.